


If There Be a War

by NerdWhoSaysNi



Series: Marvel Oneshots [9]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Asgard, Asgard (Marvel), F/M, Post-Avengers Asgard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 08:04:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16530656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdWhoSaysNi/pseuds/NerdWhoSaysNi
Summary: The Nine Realms are in an uprise, and Thor and Loki have been called away to help restore peace.





	If There Be a War

“I haven’t seen him for almost four months,” Hal reminded Saph. “Maybe he’s changed. Maybe he doesn’t want us to get married anymore. Maybe...maybe something happened and, I don’t know-”

“Don’t. Stop. Stop talking. Stop thinking about it. Stop worrying.” Saph grabbed Haley by her ankles and gently pulled her out of her pretzel pose to face her. “You’re only driving yourself crazy.” 

“I was already crazy.”

“That’s true.” Saph plopped herself on the couch and stared out the window. “Ya know, I haven’t been to Asgard yet. I can’t wait to see what it’s like. I bet it’s all surreal and beautiful.”

“It’s really shiny,” Hal said, rolling onto her back. “Lots of jewels and sparkly things. Metals and glass and stuff.”

Saph hmphed and stood. “Well, even if you’re not going to get ready, I am. I want to be prepared. We might leave at any minute and I want to check on the twins again before we go.” She helped her best friend off the floor before taking the stairs up to her room. 

Left alone, Hal pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her arms around them. She missed hugging her fiance. In fact, she missed everything about him. She missed sneaking out at night like when they were younger, cuddling at all times of day, finding new ways to be cut and mushy in public just to piss off Bri, the way he smiled at her, the sound of his voice, and their endless conversations about absolutely anything they could think of. She had missed it all for four months. At the end of fall, Thor had been summoned back to Asgard to help defend the realms against a civil war. When fighting broke out, Loki was required to help fight and lead in the effort to restore peace. Loki and Hal hadn’t been engaged for all that long, maybe six months, but the time apart felt like an eternity. 

Now, Cap was leading a small group to Asgard to help with the last of the fighting. Hal and Saph were among those chosen to go. They would be outfitted with Asgardian armor and weapons and given assignments once they got there, but they had to be prepared to leave at any moment. They didn’t know when the Bifrost would be open for them. 

Hal hauled herself to her room and finished getting ready. She packed what she had for weapons and dressed in her SHIELD uniform. Almost as soon as she finished, Saph pounded on her door. “Let’s go. It’s time.”

Together, the girls sprinted to the roof and watched as a kaleidoscopic beam descended from the sky. It consumed their small group and sucked them up like a vacuum hose. When Haley opened her eyes, they stood inside the golden orb of the Bifrost. 

“Time to march. Hope everyone wore their walking shoes.” Cap led the way toward the rainbow bridge, saluting Heimdal and thanking him for his service as he passed. The little troop followed his example. 

It was a few miles. And a hell of a lot of stairs. But marching up the grand front steps of the palace was worth it. Saph couldn’t stop excitedly pointing things out. At a set of massive doors, Captain Rogers announced himself and the others to the guards and they were allowed through. The throne room was just as Hal remembered it. Everything was metal and shiny and artistically decorated and over-the-top. It was beautiful. But it was a lot. 

They approached the empty throne sitting on the empty dais and waited at the base of the steps. No one moved. No one spoke. Cap had them standing in two straight rows, prepared for anything that could happen. It was silent for so long Haley wondered if they were early or late or if time was entirely different here. She didn’t remember much from her last trip, but it had lasted all of three hours, so it wasn’t much to remember. 

Just as the troop began to get shifty, a woman dressed in blue approached. “Follow me, Captain. The armory is waiting.”

The troop was lined up first by experience, then by specialty. Each fitting took at least an hour, until finally the line reached Hal and Saph. They were the youngest, so they defaulted to the end of the line. Saph was part of the half of the group that would be aiding the final-push battles. Haley was part of the stealth and strategy half and the diplomacy clean-up. The realms were a mess, and their troop was the mop. 

Haley endured a solid hour at least of being poked and stabbed, measured, molded, prodded, commanded, and moved like a puppet. First, the seamstress had ordered her to strip out of her uniform and dress in the provided leggings and tunic. Then, several assistants, younger than Hal herself, began testing different pieces of armor on her. Most of the pieces were too big, and the seamstress was getting frustrated. 

“Same problem as the prince,” the woman muttered. “You children don’t eat enough to grow any muscles. You should be strong, not thin enough to wash down a drain.”

“The prince?” Hal blurted. “Loki? Is he here? Can I see him?”

Her answer was a pin stab in her leg. 

\------------------------------

They were given rooms for the night and their meals were delivered by maids. Haley picked at the small loaf of bread until she had eaten the soft center and left the crusty heel. 

“You need the energy. Eat,” Saph encouraged. The girls were sitting cross legged on Haley’s bed, facing each other with their trays between them. 

“What if he doesn’t want to get married? What if he changed his mind? The last time we were apart...” 

Saph rolled her eyes and pushed Haley’s spoon into her hand. “Stop thinking and eat.”

Hal only picked at the stew. It smelled delicious, but she was too preoccupied thinking about when she could see Loki again. “Saph-”

“No. Eat.” Saph’s own plate was almost empty. It was late, and they would be leaving for their assigned posts in the morning, but for now they could enjoy the other’s company.

“Gosh, fine.” Hal angrily spooned stew into the little bread bowl she had made and began to nibble. She realized she was hungrier than she thought when she dipped her spoon into the bowl and it came up empty. “I’m serious though, Saph. What if his time here made him realize he doesn’t really love me? What if he met someone here? What if he never wants to come back?”

“I think you’re worrying over nothing. Loki still loves you and always will. Nothing is going to change that. The last time you were apart for this long, you weren’t even engaged and he never stopped loving you, not once. Just trust him.” Saph took their dishes to the door where a maid would collect them later. “Just wait, when you see him, he’s going to be so happy to see you.” She turned back the plush covers on her bed and slid under them. 

Hal did the same, but continued to stare at the ceiling with her brow furrowed. “What if he isn’t though?”

“He will be.” Saph blew out the lamp and plunged the room into darkness. “Now get some sleep. We have work in the morning.”

The morning was nothing short of breath-taking. The city was cloaked in a rosy pink sunrise and the roofs glinted in the gentle light. On the horizon, the mountains looked like amethysts planted upside down in the earth with their snowy caps. “Wow,” Saph breathed. As her head swiveled repeatedly back and forth, her eyes kept widening to soak it all in. “Wooooooowwwwwww.”

Haley laughed and elbowed her best friend in the side. “Hey, come on, we need to get dressed.”

The girls left the balcony and found their finished armor displayed in the room. Saph’s armor was clearly for a warrior. Her leggings had metal plates sewn to the shins and quads; a rather bland tunic laced up under a polished chest plate, reinforced to take all kinds of blows from various weapons and distances; guards strapped to her shoulders, arms, and the backs of her hands. When she had only the boots left, Saph stared at them in horror. “How do they expect me to move in these? They’re going to weigh a ton each.” The boots rose to her knees and fit snugly over the leggings by lacing from the heel to the top. The thick leather was padded and reinforced with more armor plating. “Maybe I can wear my sneakers?” she laughed. Resigned, she reached for a boot and nearly flung it across the room with the force she used. “What? What is this?” She picked it up again and tested the weight in her hand. “It’s so light.” Saph tossed the boot to Hal and began to pull on the other one. “SHIELD needs to employ an Asgardian seamstress and blacksmith. This stuff is incredible.”

Saph was right. Looking at the boot, it should have weighed more than a corgi, but it didn’t weigh much at all. After tossing the boot back, Haley began tugging on her own armor. It was clearly designed to keep her safe from a distance. Like Saph’s, her armor consisted mainly of leggings, a tunic, and boots, but Haley’s was black from head to toe. The leggings had chainmail sewn onto the sides and fronts of her thighs, but the metal was black matte so she could sneak around at night without reflections betraying her. Next, she had to figure out the layers of her tunic. A fitted, long sleeved black shirt came first, followed by a sleeveless tunic that reminded her of something from Star Wars. The thick fabric was lined entirely with more chain mail, but it remained as light and comfortable as any of her SHIELD uniforms. The sides had been slit from her waist to the hem two-thirds of the way to her knees, and the front and back panels were split and loosely laced in the middle to allow her full range of movement. A thick, black leather belt cinched everything around her waist. Last, she sat down and pulled on her boots. They laced up the inside of her leg so the skins, calves, and outsides could be covered with the tiniest links of chain mail she’d ever seen. The craftsmanship was truly remarkable. “Gosh, I feel like the seamstress raided Kylo Ren’s closet.” 

The girls tightly braided back each other’s hair before collecting their things and marching to the throne room. Once there, they received their orders, split into their assigned groups, and shared a last hug. They didn’t know when the fighting would be over. Maybe a day, maybe a few weeks. But the end would not be pretty.

\---------------------

Haley followed her group out of the city and toward the bridge. Just as they reached the end of the city, a voice shouted to get off the road. Commotion drowned out the rest of the man’s words, but the troop obeyed. They scrambled off the road and stood in a small courtyard between two buildings. The sound of hooves approached and Haley strained to see past the man in front of her. Just over his shoulder, she could make out a woman, the same woman dressed in blue who had greeted them the day before, and--Hal’s heart skipped a few beats. Loki. But, not her fiance, not as she remembered him. Here was a prince, astride a war-ready horse, himself dressed for battle. His armor wasn’t a strange sight to Haley, but the green cloak, the stern expression, and most of all, the elaborate golden helmet, were entirely foreign. She watched as a rider intercepted the pair and nodded respectfully to Loki and the woman. The men exchanged words and Loki nodded. The sunlight bounced off the curving horns of his helmet. Turning to the woman, Loki kissed her cheek and gave her hand a squeeze. Haley covered her open mouth with her hand. Who was this woman? Just as she was about to push forward for a better view, Loki spurred his horse into a canter, and he and the messenger disappeared down the bridge. 

Hours later, as they were being interrogated and inspected by an Asgardian commander, Haley could only think of what she had seen. How Loki had acted with the woman and who she could be to him. As the commander put them through their paces, Hal’s body operated separately from her mind. She sprinted, climbed, fought, and worked without thinking about it. Finally, after a long hand-to-hand evaluation, the troop was led onto a makeshift archery range. Haley measured the distance with her eyes and aimed for the rodent shaped target in the trees. She could do this in her sleep. With one arrow, she skewered it through the middle, and with a second arrow, she knocked an apple from a soldier’s hand twice the distance away. 

The troop was led to their tents and shown where they would find meals and other supplies. As the youngest, Haley was last again. Before the soldier left, Haley dared to speak, “Excuse me, but may I ask a question?”

The man didn’t reply, but he stopped walking away and turned to face her, so she took that as a yes.

“Where is the prince? May I meet with him? Please. It’s important.”

“The prince arrives at dawn and will be leading a battalion to battle immediately upon arrival. He doesn’t have time for a fanclub.”

Haley turned and disappeared into her tent. She barely slept that night, and when the dawn wake up call was sounded, she was already awake and armored up for the day. The SHIELD troop sat through a long day of strategy, history, and other informational crash courses until a cry went around the camp. “The battle is won! Prepare to fight tomorrow! But tonight, we celebrate!”

The battle was won. That meant Loki was back in the camp. Hal took advantage of the distraction and chaos and slipped out of the tent. After wandering in circles through the tents, she approached a soldier and asked him where she could find the prince. 

“In the command tent, but he has asked that no one disturb him.”

Haley didn’t process the end of the man’s sentence. She strode toward the large command tent and hesitated outside the entrance flap. Everything was closed off. The tent was silent. Standing out of the way, she peeked between the siding and the entrance and let her eyes adjust to the dim light. A large table was centered in the space, and a map and other cartographic instruments cluttered the top. Loki stood with his back to her, leaning heavily with his hands spread on the table. He looked exhausted, weary, spent. He had shed his cloak and helmet, but the biggest loss was his regal posture. His shoulders were slumped and his back curved. He seemed to be keeping weight off his right knee. To Haley, he looked like the imperfect man she loved more than anything else in this world or any other world. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around his waist and coax him to lay down, to rest, to relax. To let her love him. But for the duration of the war, he was a prince and a commander, and he had to act as such. 

Still, she wanted to talk to him. Pushing aside the flap, she entered the tent and waited for him to turn. 

As soon as he heard footsteps and the rustle of fabric, Loki stiffened. He resumed the unyielding, granite stance of a military leader and his hands balled into fists. When he spoke, his voice left as a growl. “I asked to be left alone.”

Haley was shocked. She didn’t speak, and she didn’t trust what she might say. 

When she didn’t leave, Loki snapped. He raised his voice just enough that it made her jump. “Get out!”

Immediately, Hal pivoted and plunged back into the night. She would not try to see him again. Not until this blasted war was over. 

The celebration that night was raucous, but Haley refused to participate. Loki was absent, and Hal disappeared early as well. Besides, she needed rest. 

\------------------

A week of fighting passed and Haley quickly moved up the ranks. Her abilities lockpicking, spying, climbing, scouting, and shooting got her recognized by soldiers of many ranks. Still, Loki remained distant. Haley hadn’t tried to see him again. 

On a colder night, the soldiers that had been out scouting that night sat in a circle around a campfire. Haley sat with them. She had spent the entire day perched in a tree, peering through leaves, and imitating bird calls to signal whatever she saw. She knew she was helping, but she’d felt useless. Now, her entire body was stiff and cold. Another scout had wrapped his cloak around her and offered her a seat at the fire, but she didn’t participate in the discussion. The more the men and few other women talked, the angrier Haley became. It seemed everyone had an opinion about Thor and Jane’s relationship or Thor’s business on Midgard, or the way the princes were touting their authority. 

“At least we can be assured Thor is loyal to us though. That snake they call a prince will lead us to certain death and we will be obligated by duty to follow him,” one man began. “He lies to us all with his forked tongue between his pointed teeth.” Hal’s nails bit into her palms as she listened. The man continued, “Even now, he could be plotting to change allegiances, to lead us to the enemy like sheep to slaughter.”

Haley spat, “To speak badly of your prince makes you no better than him.”

The soldier stood and fetched another log for the fire. “He’s not my prince. He’s not even my race. He’s a horror story incarnate. That beast should have died long ago, frozen in Jotunheim. If it had been me, I’d have killed him then and there. I might still now, if given the chance.”

His last words were barely out of his mouth before Haley was on her feet. She wasn’t sure what she was doing until her fist found the man’s eye. Something crunched and the man staggered. With her left hand, she swung at him again. This time, her ring gouged a line in his face. The soldier fell heavy on his rear and Haley was prepared to fully pummel him if an arm hadn’t dragged her backwards. Another SHIELD agent carried her away from the fire and back to her tent. “Cool off. You’re done. Get some sleep,” the woman said.

Haley iced her hand that night and hated herself the next morning when she found her name assigned to the soldier from the night before. A few inches of snow layered everything, making the camp look covered in a fleece blanket. Her same armor as usual, but off-white, sat in the corner of her tent. In addition, a grey mask to cover the lower half of her face, gloves, and a hooded cloak were folded beside. Haley dressed as quickly as she could and reported to the command tent for her assignment. Three other soldiers and the man stood waiting for her. To her delight, the man’s face was swollen around his eye and his nose was crooked, and the cut from her ring was bright and raw in the sharp morning light. 

Usually, Loki was gone by the time Haley got her assignment, so she was surprised to see him in the tent. As soon as the other soldiers recognized him, they dropped to one knee and bowed. Haley copied them, keeping her face hidden with her cloak hood. “My lord, I didn’t know you were still in the camp,” the soldier stammered. 

“The snow has hindered progress. Today, only the scouts will go out.” Loki’s words made Hal’s breathing stop. It was so different from the gentle voice she was used to. This was the voice of a commander. When Loki turned to face the soldier and scouts, Hal ducked her head again. The shuffle and silence in the tent was uneasy; clearly the other soldiers were evaluating the man’s injuries. “Byrnhild,-” Loki began with a hint of superior amusement.

“Sir.” 

“There should not be fighting inside the camp. Who was involved in this?”

Haley became immensely thankful that her bruised hand was concealed within the gloves.

“One of the aids from Midgard, sir.”

“Have him punished. Night watch and one lash. I will not stand for fighting among my own men.”

Byrnhild adjusted his gloves. “My lord, it was not a man. One of the girls.”

Loki hesitated, but replied, “The punishment does not change. This army cannot win a war if it is fighting from within.”

“Yes, sir.” 

“You have your assignment. Leave.”

The day was biting and cruel. When the sun sank behind the trees, Haley was ordered to a tent where she took her one lash silently. She simmered in her own anger all night as she stood at the perimeter and watched the shadows shift with the stars. 

In the morning, she was recruited for a strategy talk. The scouts had the best idea of the lay of the land and the position of the troops on both sides, so their presence was required. Haley stood at the back and let the leaders talk. She understood the weight of the matter though. If they made a wrong move, the whole conflict could blow up again. Two slightly wrong moves and everyone could die. Every option had to be thoroughly planned. 

By the end of the afternoon, Haley had a headache. The commanders had still not reached an agreement, but the scouts were dismissed. She joined some other SHIELD agents for tea and mulled cider around a fire. As they spoke, a commander approached and spoke to one of his seconds in the circle. The man nodded and the commander left. 

“The prince has become impatient and chosen a final strong offensive. Tomorrow.”

The more details she heard, the more the pieces began to click. They couldn’t do that. Not so soon. The ranks would fall apart. Most of the soldiers would be slaughtered. Jumping to her feet, Hal began to jog back to the command tent. She had to see Loki. She had to stop him. 

At the entrance, she didn’t hesitate. She ignored the protests of the guards. She pushed through and stood in the light of the lamps. “How could you make that decision?” she demanded. “You know better. You know what will happen. How could you sacrifice your men like that?”

As she spoke, she watched Loki whip around to face her. The three other commanders grabbed for their swords. He began to speak before recognition set in. “How dare you challenge your-” The anger in him died and his next words dropped quietly to the hard ground. “Haley? When did- How did-” In two long strides, he crossed the space between them and folded her into his arms. “By Odin, I’ve missed you,” he said, burying his face in her hair. 

Hal wrapped her arms around him as well and closed her eyes. She didn’t care that there were other people in the room. She loved him and she wasn’t going to be shy about it. When his arms dropped around her waist, the lashed skin smarted and she had to pull away. “Loki, please, I’ve missed you too, but-”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?” 

“Night watch and one lash,” she replied. For proof, she lifted her bruised hand. “Byrnhild was saying things...and it just...I got angry. I’m sorry.”

“Hal.” He lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed her discolored knuckles. “I’m so sorry. If I had known, I never would have-”

“No. You acted like any good leader would. Unbiased and with good judgement. I’m proud.” Smiling, she cupped his face in her hands. 

“My leige,” one of the commanders began. 

“Dismissed,” Loki said. “We’ll resume tomorrow. We will take no actions until we are certain it is the best move.”

After the commanders were gone, Loki scooped Haley into his arms and held her close to his chest. “I don’t ever want to leave you again, love. These four months have been too hard without you.”

Haley clung to him until she had to speak. “It’s been hard for me too. I don’t care where you go or why, I’m going with you next time.”

For the rest of the night, they sat in the command tent and took turns telling the other about their times apart. When it was too late for either of them to keep their eyes open, Loki stood and reached for Haley’s hand. “Come back with me. To my tent. I don’t want to spend another night without you.”

“You know I can’t. How would that look to the other soldiers?”

Loki nodded and let her hand drop. “But I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Of course. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

\-------------------------

A week later, the inevitable happened. 

Haley sat upright with a start, clutching the warm blankets around herself. “Loki? What’s going on?”

The horn blared through the camp again. Loki was already finishing strapping on his armor. “The other side is approaching. This war ends today.” He buckled on a chest plate and tugged the strap snug.

Keeping the blankets close, Haley slipped off the cot and approached her fiance on bare feet. The ground was hard and cold, and she could feel an icy draft sneaking under the tent panels. The air was thick with the scent of snow, but if it fell during the battle, the war could be prolonged. If it held off, everything they’d been working for ended today for better or worse. “Be safe. Please.” Her hands fidgeted with his armor, adjusting plates here and snugging straps there. When he pinned his green cloak to the broad shoulder pads, Hal fidgeted with that too.

Gently, Loki took her hands and kissed both palms. “I’ll be okay. These are the best fighters in Asgard and Midgard. I’m in excellent company. Thor and his warriors are on their way to reinforce us as soon as possible. We’re going to win.”

“I’ll be with you this time. I’m not letting you go anywhere without me. Certainly not Valhalla.”

Loki kissed her forehead before lifting her left hand to bring her ring to eye level. “I made a promise, love, and I intend to keep it. I’m not going to Valhalla today or tomorrow or any day soon. And the day I do, I will be content knowing that I had the honor of calling you my wife and my princess for more than half a century.”

Haley hugged him as tightly as she could, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Not a minute later, a voice at the entrance pulled them apart. “My lord, the commanders are waiting.” Loki nodded and scooped his helmet off the ground before kissing her forehead a last time and striding out of the tent. The messenger’s eyes glanced at Haley and he dipped his head to her. “M’lady, I will have your armor brought for you. You’ve been assigned to the archers.” Just as abruptly as he had come, he left, but another soldier appeared carrying her black armor. 

Dressed, armed, and pretending she wasn’t as nervous as she felt, Hal joined the other archers in line. The entire camp had emptied until the battalions were organized in columns and squads. The commanders marched through the ranks, giving orders and shouting encouragements. The whole scene was reminiscent of something she had seen in a Lord of the Rings movie. 

At last, stillness fell over them. The only sounds were those of creaking armor and clinking blades. Hal’s eyes searched for Loki among the ranks and finally landed on his cloak. He was a few lines in front of her and a few yards over, but he was looking for her too. She could see something frantic in his eyes, and as soon as he found her, he stepped out of line. A ripple passed through the army. Soldiers looked to their leader for direction, but Loki ignored them. 

Even from this distance, Haley could recognize the fear and fire in his eyes. Before she knew what she was doing, she began to push her way to the front of the archer lines. She sprinted toward Loki and met him halfway where he took her face in both hands and kissed her more fiercely than she could ever remember. Somewhere in the hazy distance of what was real, the soldiers hooted, shouted, and cheered, banging swords on shields and stomping their feet. 

Hal never wanted that kiss to stop. Her heart jumped out of her chest and whatever trepidation she had felt a minute ago vanished. Too soon, the ground began to rumble, and the vibrations traveled up to her knees. The army was approaching. Fast. Loki pulled away and met her eyes. “Go. Stay safe, and please, do not risk your life. Not for me, not for anyone. I never want to live a day without you.”

Before he could turn back to his spot in the front line, Haley grabbed his armor with both hands and pulled him down for a last fiery kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he replied. 

They broke apart and returned to their lines just as the other army crested the plateau. Hal fell into a pattern; draw, aim, shoot, draw, aim, shoot. Soldiers fell by the dozens, but the lines around her held. When the fighting got too close for the archers, they retreated to a distance where they could pick off the other side. When they ran out of arrows, they drew their blades and plunged into the thick of it all. Hal didn’t have a spare moment to look for her fiance because she was too distracted fighting for her life. It was clear that the other army was stronger, thicker, and better prepared, but their numbers were half the force that Loki commanded. 

Just as Haley began to feel confident of certain victory, the sky began to shed heavy, wet snow. Boots churned the ground and the earth became slick and hazardous. Seeing became more complicated and it became more difficult to distinguish friendly limbs from enemy limbs. Just as Hal felt her confidence slip away, a shout startled her and a crushing force knocked her onto her back. Before she could even make sense of what happened, burly hands were hauling her to her feet. 

“Thor?” Hal blubbered, wiping mud off her forehead. “You’re just in time! Where’s Saph?” 

Thor made quick work of knocking around a few opponents before facing Hal. “She is fighting with my best men and likely keeping score. She is intent on winning a bet, and I believe she will.”

Haley found herself actually laughing despite the chaos that reigned around her. “That sounds like Saph.”

Now with Thor’s troop reinforcing their own, the battle turned in their favor and within an hour, they had claimed the victory. 

That night, at a celebration more joyous than any the girls had ever seen, Saph and Haley sat side by side on a bench, wrapped in cloaks and with their hands curled around mugs of hot cider. Thor and Loki were meeting with their commanders and would join the festivities later. For now though, the girls were happy to cuddle together and swap stories of their times apart. 

“I told you he was going to be happy to see you,” Saph teased. 

“He was more than just happy.” Hal blushed into her cider and nearly spit across the table when she saw Saph choke. 

“Too much, too much, stop.” Saph waved her hands to stop her friend, but she understood. She and her own husband weren’t so much different. 

They sang and laughed and joked with the other soldiers and never lacked for any food or drink during the night. At the end, a messenger approached Haley and bowed. “M’lady, the prince has asked for your company in the command tent. He says it’s important.”

Saph watched Hal stand and follow the messenger out of the tent. A ball of ice settled in Hal’s stomach. What had happened? Was he hurt? She drilled the messenger as they walked, but he never answered. At last, she entered the command tent, ignoring the guards and waving away a soldier who tried to announce her. She marched right up to Loki and took his hand. “What’s going on? Is everything okay? Are you hurt? What’s happening?”

Loki smiled and laced his fingers through Haley’s. “Nothing is wrong, darling. There’s someone I would like you to meet.” He gestured with his arm to a woman standing on the other side of Thor. A woman dressed in blue with the sharpest blue eyes Hal had ever seen. The same woman in blue that rode with Loki on the bridge and who led them to the armory their first day. “Haley, please let me introduce you to my mother, Queen Frigga.” 

Haley’s eyes darted between her fiance and the queen. ‘Your mother?’ she mouthed. 

The amusement in his eyes only doubled. “Mother, this is Haley Barton, my fiancee and the only woman in the nine realms who I wish to share the rest of my life with. She fought alongside my troops these past weeks and helped restore peace to the realms.”

When the queen spoke, her voice sounded to Haley like liquid gold, rich and elegant but refined. “I could not ask for a better match for my son than a brave woman who also makes him happy. I am pleased to finally meet you.”

Haley was sure her eyes were wider than a sugar glider’s but she was shocked. Wasn’t the mother-in-law supposed to despise the fiancee? “Th-thank you. I’m honored.” She quickly remembered to add, “Your highness,” and follow it with her best little bow. 

Frigga took Haley’s wrists and straightened her up. “That isn’t necessary. I do not require my daughters to bow to me.”

Hal was speechless. She was so overwhelmed and relieved that she had no idea what to say. Thankfully, Loki filled the silence. “Mother, if it’s acceptable with you, Haley and I would like to retire for the night. It’s been a long day and tomorrow will be no shorter.”

“Of course.” Frigga dipped her head and watched Loki lead Haley into the darkness. 

They held hands through the camp until they reached Loki’s tent and lit the lamp. “Loki. Your mother. The queen,” Hal rambled. 

“I’m a prince, love. Who did you think was my mother?”

“I don’t- I just- She likes me? Really? How much does she know?” 

Loki laughed and slipped his arms around Haley’s back. “I’ve told her a lot about you, and she approves as much as Thor approves. Perhaps even more. She’s prepared to name you an official member of the royal family if Odin allows it.”

Hal’s mouth fell open and Loki took that chance to kiss her playfully. “Okay, but,” she started, “how much have you told her? How much does she actually know?”

“She knows we are madly in love, that we will be married before the end of the next year, and that she may become a grandmother in the near-ish future.”

Hal tried to look reproachful, but she couldn’t stop the smile creeping onto her lips. “Maybe we should try for the middle-ish future instead? I don’t think my parents are up for the whole being a grandparent thing just yet.”

His laughter rumbled in his chest as he pulled her closer. “Of course, darling. I should caution you though that the more you wear this armor, the harder it will be for me to keep my hands to myself.”

“Oh, I would never tell you to keep your hands to yourself because I know I certainly can’t, seeing you in your armor.” She made a point of pressing herself against him and trailing little kisses along his jaw. 

Loki intercepted those kisses with his mouth and began to part her lips. It had been a long day, but that wasn’t going to stop him from loving her as thoroughly as he could. Just as their kisses got heated, the entrance was swept aside and a messenger cleared his throat. “M’lady, Thor and the generals have asked to speak with you. He says he’ll be quick.”

Reluctantly, Haley pulled away from her fiance and followed the messenger out. After a debriefing of the battle and a conversation about the training and tactics, she was dismissed. Hal couldn’t see Loki’s silhouette as she neared the tent, so she entered quietly and found him asleep. His armor rested on the ground in a corner, and she placed hers beside. Silently, she joined him and rested her head on his heart. The hardest part was over. The war was done. Now, only the political matters had to be cleaned up. And that could be worried about another time. For now, Hal was going to cuddle up to Loki and let herself sink into the deepest sleep. Just as she was drifting off, she felt lips on her forehead and Loki’s voice whispering, “I love you.”


End file.
